You Believed in Me
by AriSkyWriter
Summary: Years ago, Chad received a fan letter from a little girl named Sonny.  He's kept it after all these years, but one night Sonny discovers it.  What happens when he discovers that the girl he loves is the girl who wrote him his very first fan letter?
1. Chapter 1

**Just so you know, this story takes the place of "Falling for the Falls" Parts 1 and 2. Sonny and Chad are not dating, and they haven't told each other that they like each other.  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own SWAC, but this plot is my original idea.**

Sonny stared down the long second floor hallway of Chad's Beverly Hills mansion. He was throwing one of his famous parties. She had escaped the loud music and cigarette smoke. Somehow, she always felt out of place at these parties. Instead of staying around and feeling uncomfortable, she had decided to slip away and explore some of Chad's mansion.

There had to be at least eight doors on each side. They were all open and light spilled out of them. In the nearest one, she could see a massive bed and rich furnishings. She couldn't even imagine living in such a big house. And then she blushed. Maybe she could live in a house as big as this if it meant sharing it with Chad. She could feel her cheeks turning pink at the prospect of being married to Chad. It had been a couple of months since she admitted to herself that she was in love with him. She sighed.

It was at this moment that she noticed that one of the doors at the other end of the hall was closed. That seemed strange as every other door was open. She figured that it was a closet, but curiosity got the best of her and she made her way over to the door. Her hand reached for the doorknob and she found that it was unlocked. She slowly pushed the door open.

To her surprise, it wasn't a closet. It was a small room set up like an office. There were pictures of Chad in the Goody Gang and in some other TV shows that he guest-stared in. A small bulletin board hung behind the desk. It was covered with pictures and letters. Sonny tiptoed into the room and then crossed to the bulletin board. She started reading the first letter:

_Dear Chad, I mean Mr. Goldfarb,_

_Mama says that I have to be polite when I write this, but I dunno about that. She's the one writing the letter because I am only five years old and I can't write good yet. My name is Sonny, by the way..._

She stopped reading and stood staring at the letter. Without warning, she felt the world spinning and flashed back several years: she was a little girl sitting at the kitchen table telling her mom exactly what to say to the "cutest boy" on the Goody Gang. The room stopped spinning and she found herself back in the office on the second floor of Chad's mansion.

Next to the letter was the picture that she had tucked into the envelope with the letter. It was her five-year old drawing of her and Chad. The figures were pretty poorly drawn and Chad had green hair, but she remembered lovingly drawing the picture and then lavishly covering the white spaces with hearts. She smiled and reached out a hand to touch the drawing. Who would have thought that she would have met Chad years later, and fallen in love with him for real?

"Whoa! No one touches Chad Dylan Cooper's stuff!" Chad's voice behind her caused Sonny to jump. As she did, she accidentally knocked the letter off of the board. She bent down to pick up the letter and touched Chad's hand as she did.

Chad saw the letter fall and hurried around the desk to pick it up. That letter was very important to him, although he never let anyone know just how much. He felt a shiver go through him as Sonny's hand touched him.

The touch was brief: Sonny moved her hand away as quickly as she could. Chad stood there holding the letter. How would he explain it to Sonny? It was a silly little letter, but he loved it and it had kept him going throughout the years. It was sentimental too because it had been his first letter. He frowned and looked at Sonny.

"What are you doing up here, Sonny? This room is closed for a reason, and the party is downstairs." She started talking at the same time he did,

"I can't believe that you kept that letter all these years." It took a moment for Chad to realize exactly what she said,

"Yeah, well, it's, um..." The full impact of her statement hit him. "Wait! How in the world did you know how old that letter was?"

"Chad, I wrote that letter. Well, my mom wrote it, but I told her what I wanted to say. I was a very-" She was rambling nervously. Chad cut her off,

"Y-You wrote that letter?" Chad stared at her, disbelief in his eyes.

Sonny had no words. She was too full of emotion. She could only look at him and nod. She longed to drop her eyes and hid the emotions in them, but she found it impossible to look away. She knew that she couldn't hid her feelings anymore. Chad would look into her eyes and know how much she cared for him- how much she loved him.

Chad read the look in her eyes. He knew. But he couldn't move. America's teen heartthrob- self-proclaimed greatest actor of his generation- had no words. After all of these years, he had found the person who inspired him the most, and she just so happened to be the girl who had inched her way into his heart.

They stared at each other for a moment. Neither one said a word. Sonny found her tongue first,

"Why did you keep the letter all of these years, Chad?"

"I-I..." Chad's face turned red. He couldn't bring himself to tell her the truth. A couple deep breaths helped to steady his heart rate and cleared his mind. He reminded himself that Sonny was just a Random. He shouldn't care what the Randoms thought- and he definitely shouldn't share his deepest secrets with a Random, even one as cute as Sonny. With that thought in mind, he shrugged his shoulders and regained his "Chad Dylan Cooper" look.

"I dunno. Sentimental reasons I guess. Should've thrown it out long ago." He managed to keep his face blank of expression. If he could convince Sonny that he didn't care, then he could be free to keep his secret and avoid a scandal over at the Falls. There was no way that he could ever date a Random.

"Oh. I see." Sonny answered in a quiet, sad voice. "I thought- well, never mind. I-I'm sorry, Chad. I've got to go." She whirled away from him and ran out the door. He thought he heard a sob ring out through the hallway.

He let the mask fall from his face. What had he done? He had found her. The girl that had given him encouragement and helped him through all of the tough years, and he had hurt her deeply. Hadn't he written her letters over the years, telling her how important she was to him- how much he loved her? They had never been mailed, of course, but it was a way for him to express how he truly felt. Somehow, the girl who had written him that letter had understood.

And that girl was Sonny Monroe. She had been standing two feet from him and he had let her go- after breaking her heart. For a moment, he held back. He really didn't want to get into it with the Randoms or the Falls, but he truly felt that he belonged with Sonny. In the end, his heart won out. He ran out the door, not even bothering to lock it.

He found Sonny in the gardens out back. She was standing by the fountain, absently running her hands through the water. Chad watched as a silent sob shook her. He wanted to put his arms around her and kiss away the tears, but he was afraid of how she might respond. He definitely didn't want to get slapped in the face. Instead, he softly called out to her.

"Sonny?" He took a step toward her, but paused as she turned a tear-streaked face towards him. He felt a piece of his heart break when he saw the pain there.

"Leave me alone, Chad." Her voice was flat and lifeless. He longed to reach out and draw her to him. "I don't need any 'help' from the Greatest Actor of Our Generation!" She practically spat out the last words. And then she turned to go, but Chad reached out and put a hand on her arm. He felt her stiffen, but she didn't try to pull away.

"That letter, Sonny, is why I continued acting after the Goody Gang broke up. It's why I continued acting after my grandmother died. It's why I continued acting after I got rejected for movie role, after movie role. It's why I continued acting after my parents got divorced. It's why I auditioned for Mackenzie Falls. You were the reason for that. You sent me my first fan letter. That's why I kept that letter." He held his breath, waiting for her response. None came. He panicked. It was time to tell the whole truth, "I'm an actor because of you, Sonny- you believed in me. You've always believed in me. And I've always loved you for it." Again, he waited. And then Sonny spoke, but she didn't turn around,

"Really, Chad?" Sonny turned then and he saw her eyes. "Do you really love me?" A small smile played across her face. She took a step toward him.

He reached out and drew her close. His breath tickled her ear as he whispered to her: _I always have_.

And then he kissed her.

**Like it? Love it? Let me know by reviewing :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**First of all, thank you so much for reading and reviewing this story! I've gotten numerous favorite story alerts as well. That means so much to me! **

**I wanted to let you know that I have started a multi-chapter story based on this one-shot. The story is titled "It's Always Sonny." There are already four chapters up, and hopefully, I will post a new one very soon.**

**Again, thank you so much for reading this story and for reviewing it.**

**Bekah :)**


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